Immigration

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what  (a) discussions,  (b) correspondence and  (c) email exchanges (i) he and (ii) his officials have had with (A) Ministers and (B) officials in the Home Office on immigration matters in North Wales during the past six months; when those exchanges took place; and what the outcome was of those exchanges.

Peter Hain: My officials, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Nick Ainger), and I, have very regular contact with Ministers and officials of the Home Office, on a range of matters which fall within the purview of the Home Secretary, including immigration, as they relate to Wales.

Departments: Databases

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what databases are controlled by her Department and its agencies; and what percentage of the data in each database she estimates is inaccurate or out of date.

David Lammy: The only databases controlled by my Department are internal systems used to support standard business processes such as correspondence and public inquiries. My Department also collates national lottery award information from the distributors and publishes an extract on the internet.
	I cannot provide information on data accuracy save at disproportionate cost.

Trust Ports

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the trust ports in the United Kingdom; and when the last such port was established.

Stephen Ladyman: A list of trust ports in the UK is contained in our publication "Focus on Ports" a copy of which is on the Department's website at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/maritime/focusonports/focusonports2006a?version=1 and is being placed in the Library of the House. No trust port has been established in the past 10 years. To obtain information on the most recent trust port to be established would involve disproportionate cost.

Housing Benefit: Disabled

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received housing benefit and the disability premium in each quarter since 2001.

James Plaskitt: Information on housing benefit recipients with a disability premium is only available annually. The available information is in the table.
	
		
			  Housing benefit recipients with a disability premium: Great Britain, May 2001 to May 2003 
			  As at May each year  Number 
			 2001 788,000 
			 2002 832,000 
			 2003 836,000 
			  Notes:  1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand. 2. Figures are based on a one per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation. 3. HB figures exclude any extended payment cases. 4. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.  Source: Housing benefit and council tax benefit management information system, annual one per cent. sample, taken in May 2001 to May 2003.

Jobseekers Allowance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged between 25 and 50 years were claiming jobseeker's allowance in each month since 1992.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Unemployment benefits and jobseeker's allowance claimants in Great Britain aged 25 to 49 years: January 1992 to January 2007 
			   1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999 
			 January 1,388,515 1,625,400 1,552,080 1,359,760 1,269,850 1,052,025 807,540 771,050 
			 February 1,409,960 1,616,160 1,525,805 1,333,340 1,264,195 1,000,220 784,945 763,440 
			 March 1,412,865 1,595,340 1,495,350 1,303,455 1,227,800 955,790 761,920 745,975 
			 April 1,434,445 1,602,520 1,477,815 1,299,380 1,228,505 928,035 759,135 736,150 
			 May 1,430,485 1,567,435 1,442,455 1,266,545 1,190,430 894,115 740,160 713,185 
			 June 1,416,440 1,543,330 1,408,020 1,241,990 1,160,780 855,695 725,715 696,830 
			 July 1,438,940 1,548,010 1,403,820 1,253,835 1,167,305 855,525 737,165 694,445 
			 August 1,471,210 1,552,750 1,398,650 1,259,335 1,172,980 845,860 743,220 689,300 
			 September 1,469,565 1,524,490 1,366,955 1,227,945 1,132,360 810,500 722,275 671,980 
			 October 1,470,850 1,483,010 1,317,960 1,200,125 1,075,575 774,590 705,140 645,125 
			 November 1,509,780 1,477,865 1,308,405 1,198,170 1,022,515 753,550 711,555 639,035 
			 December 1,584,355 1,494,805 1,313,290 1,225,835 1,025,175 760,020 722,485 639,645 
		
	
	
		
			   2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 January 688,715 595,540 554,605 535,515 501,455 449,420 489,055 493,500 
			 February 678,635 587,915 548,860 535,890 496,645 450,915 498,825 — 
			 March 661,200 570,460 533,465 524,630 483,440 448,805 499,320 — 
			 April 636,440 554,645 527,925 513,930 472,110 444,615 496,720 — 
			 May 620,710 542,105 516,130 511,285 455,890 444,745 492,050 — 
			 June 603,370 524,330 507,610 500,395 441,625 440,745 487,385 — 
			 July 596,480 522,290 508,270 495,895 435,475 441,415 486,005 — 
			 August 592,930 524,645 508,645 491,830 432,815 443,275 481,720 — 
			 September 570,685 508,455 496,040 478,830 423,200 439,805 478,885 —- 
			 October 557,485 499,470 484,725 467,075 413,920 438,610 472,160 — 
			 November 555,205 504,650 486,470 465,290 413,305 446,000 469,755 — 
			 December 563,395 517,235 495,320 469,885 417,815 457,220 472,530 — 
			  Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five. 2. Figures do not include a small number of clerical cases. 3. Jobseeker's Allowance was introduced in 1996 and replaced unemployment benefit.  Source: Count of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus computer systems.

Departments: Databases

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what databases are controlled by his Department and its agencies; and what percentage of the data in each database he estimates is inaccurate or out of date.

Paul Goggins: Information in the form requested is not readily available and could be compiled only at a disproportionate cost. The Department has approximately 300 databases ranging in size from the most sophisticated (SAP and Oracle) to the simplest (MS Access). The Department is currently in the process of rationalising these databases and it is therefore likely that many will be retired within the next 12-18 months.

Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many visits Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP) made to prison establishments in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years; and which such establishments HMCIP visited over that period.

Paul Goggins: Her Majesty's Chief Inspectorate of Prisons (HMCIP) has visited prison establishments in Northern Ireland a total of seven times in the last five years as follows:
	
		
			  Prison  Date 
			 Maghaberry Prison 13-17 May 2002(1) 
			  10-14 October 2005 
			   
			 Magilligan Prison 20-24 September 2004 
			  10-19 May 2006 
			   
			 Hydebank Wood Prison (Ash House) 28-30 November 2004 
			   
			 Hydebank Wood (YOC) 4-8 February 2002 
			  14-17 March 2005 
			 (1) Including Mourne House. 
		
	
	Since 2004, HMCIP inspections have been carried out with the Criminal Justice Inspectorate of Northern Ireland.

Prisons

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of prison places in Northern Ireland were occupied in each of the past five years, broken down by prison establishment.

Paul Goggins: As the prison population and the available accommodation vary on a daily basis, an average annual percentage figure would be unrepresentative. To provide a more accurate picture, statistics from establishments have been selected for the weeks beginning April and October of each year for the last five years.
	These figures do not however fully reflect the level of cell-sharing, as some areas of accommodation are reserved for specific categories of prisoners such as females or life sentence prisoners.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Establishment 
			  Week beginning  Maghaberry  Magilligan  Hydebank 
			 1 April 2002 73 91 82 
			 7 October 2002 92 91 95 
			 7 April 2003 105 96 104 
			 6 October 2003 104 99 98 
			 1 April 2004 91 101 99 
			 2 October 2004 94 94 99 
			 7 April 2005 106 88 78 
			 5 October 2005 109 86 100 
			 3 April 2006 110 88 95 
			 2 October 2006 110 86 95 
			  Note: The figures in the table are a percentage of the available certified normal accommodation.

Departments: Missing Persons

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on how many occasions his Department has been represented at a meeting of the Missing Persons Strategic Oversight Group since May 2004; and on what dates this occurred.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 28 February 2007
	The establishment of a Missing Persons Strategic Oversight Group was a recommendation of the Nove Review of the Police National Missing Persons Bureau in 2005, which proposed the establishment of a permanent oversight group drawn from statutory bodies and the voluntary sector. The group is chaired by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and supported by the Home Office.
	DfES fully recognises the importance of the group's work and we are represented on it by officials, as part of our continuing commitments to cross-Government liaison on runaways and missing persons' matters.
	There have been two official group meetings, in March and November 2006. DfES attended in November. An 'extraordinary' meeting in April 2006 enabled us to catch up on issues from the March meeting.

Independent Schools

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many independent schools there were in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many children aged five to 16 years were educated in independent schools in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: Figures provided here relate to pupils of compulsory school age (aged five to 15). Pupils aged 15 on 31 August will become 16 during the school year.
	
		
			  Independent schools( 1) : Number of schools and number of pupils aged five-15— Position in January each year: 1997 to 2006 England 
			   Number of schools  Number of pupils( 2) 
			 1997 2,256 405,790 
			 1998 2,227 410,270 
			 1999 2,214 413,130 
			 2000 2,187 416,380 
			 2001 2,188 423,220 
			 2002 2,190 429,240 
			 2003 2,160 432,690 
			 2004 2,302 438,070 
			 2005 2,250 434,750 
			 2006 2,261 434,260 
			 (1) Excludes city technology colleges and academies. (2) Age as at 31 August in the previous year.  Note: The number of pupils have been round to the nearest 10.  Source: Schools' census

Schools: Muslims

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the document Towards Greater Understanding: Meeting the needs of Muslim pupils in state schools produced by the Muslim Council of Britain and launched by the Chief Advisor for London Schools on 21 February;
	(2)  whether he had been informed of the content of the document Towards Greater Understanding: Meeting the needs of Muslim pupils in state schools prior to it being launched by the Chief Advisor for London Schools.

Jim Knight: The Muslim Council of Britain sent a draft copy of the document to the Secretary of State last autumn. The Secretary of State has made no specific assessment or endorsement of the document and there is no expectation on schools to adopt any of the specific recommendations made by the Muslim Council for Britain. Government believe that all schools have an ethos which encourages social responsibility, high aspirations, good citizenship and mutual understanding; and that schools recognise the cultural and faith needs of all pupils.

Secondary Education: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 20 February 2007,  Official Report, columns 709-10W, on secondary education: curriculum, in what way removing overlap and highlighting connections between subjects will create time for teachers to personalise their teaching.

Jim Knight: Eliminating overlaps between subjects allows scope for teaching key concepts and themes such as sustainability and diversity across the whole curriculum.
	Reducing the amount of overly detailed factual content in the curriculum will free up time in the school timetable. Schools and teachers can use that time to give more lessons in English and mathematics to pupils struggling with the basics, and to give opportunities for other pupils to extend their learning in areas in which they have particular interests and aptitudes. This moves us away from a one size fits all curriculum to one that offers more flexibility to tailor teaching to pupils' needs and aspirations.

Secondary Education: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 20 February 2007,  Official Report, columns 709-10W, on secondary education: curriculum, how he plans to assess whether schools are  (a) providing effective catch-up lessons where needed and  (b) creating opportunities for pupils to deepen and extend their learning where they have particular interests and aptitudes.

Jim Knight: We will assess the effectiveness of the new secondary curriculum through QCA's monitoring reports and Ofsted inspection reports. We will examine the key stage 3 national curriculum test results and attainment levels in GCSE and equivalent qualifications. We will monitor post 16 participation rates to see whether or not the revised secondary curriculum has been successful in engaging and challenging young people so that more are encouraged to remain in education and training for longer.

Teachers: Training

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers in each local education authority in the West Midlands are to be given training on how to search pupils and use techniques to calm pupils.

Jim Knight: As stated in our draft guidance, which is now published for consultation, any head teacher who chooses to authorise staff to search pupils, should arrange training for all staff who they authorise. The Department will not collect data on numbers being trained.

Departments: Consultants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which external consultants were used by  (a) her Department and  (b) each of its agencies in relation to private finance initiatives in 2005-06; and what the (i) nature and (ii) cost of the work was in each case.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has a private finance initiative (PFI) contract covering its global telecommunications network. In 2005-06 the FCO engaged Bird and Bird, an international commercial law firm, to provide legal advice in respect of contractual options relating to outsourcing of telecommunications in the event that this PFI was to be assessed as not proving value for money. The cost of this advice was £6,967.50.
	The FCO also employs Drivers Jonas, specialist financial consultants, to advise on the Berlin embassy PFI contract. Consultancy work undertaken by Drivers Jonas in 2005 and 2006 cost £88,810.56.
	There were no other PFIs used by the FCO or its agencies in 2005-06.

Departments: Databases

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what databases are controlled by her Department and its agencies; and what percentage of the data in each database she estimates is inaccurate or out of date.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) makes extensive use of databases. Some (for example for recording visa applications and financial transactions) are managed centrally. Many others, where there is no operational need to share data, are locally owned, by either diplomatic posts overseas or departments in the UK. A survey in 2005 identified more than 1,000 databases, of varying size and complexity, holding over one million records supporting the full range of activities undertaken by the FCO worldwide. The owning post or department is best placed to ensure the accuracy of the data held, in accordance with local need and any relevant UK statutory provisions. We do not duplicate this responsibility by central monitoring, and consequently to collect and collate the information required to answer the hon. Member's question fully could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

European Research Council

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what she expects the  (a) budget and  (b) location of the new autonomous European Research Council to be; what she expects the UK contribution to be to the Council's budget; and how many and what percentage of staff she expects to be UK citizens.

Geoff Hoon: The European Research Council (ERC) is an independent body composed of a Scientific Council of 22 eminent scientists and a Delivery Agency. Its purpose is to strengthen the quality of European research by allocating funding for research; on the basis of scientific excellence. It will have responsibility for a budget of €7.51 billion (£5 billion) in the seven year period 2007-13. The ERC is part of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Development in the overall EU budget; the UK contribution to the ERC will therefore be in proportion to our contribution to the EU budget. The ERC will be based in Brussels and staff will be recruited under Commission staff regulations as they apply to Commission Executive Agencies, so it is not possible at this stage to determine how many of the staff will be UK nationals.

Forced Labour

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make representations to the governments of  (a) India and  (b) Pakistan on the enforcement of laws prohibiting bonded labour.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs, Ian McCartney, raised the issue of bonded labour during his visit to India in November 2006 and in correspondence with Pakistani interlocutors in January 2007. We will continue to seek suitable; opportunities to raise the matter in the course of our human rights dialogue with both countries.

North Korea: Politics and Government

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures are in place to support the growth and development of liberal democracy in North Korea.

Ian McCartney: The UK is committed to promoting democratic principles and values around the world. With regards to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Government's main focus is on achieving peaceful denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and tackling issues relating to its appalling human rights record, including non-compliance with human rights norms, denying freedom of expression, assembly, association, movement or information, on which democracy is built. The positive outcome to the latest round of six party talks, with agreement reached on 13 February, is a step in the right direction towards denuclearisation. On human rights, we and our European partners regularly raise our concerns with the DPRK Government and in international fora. We have continued to urge the North Koreans to allow a visit by the UN special rapporteur for human rights, but the DPRK Government has consistently denied access. Despite having to deal with such a closed society we will continue to seek opportunities to promote openness and acceptance of universal values.

Millennium Development Goals

Tom Clarke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on progress in raising funding for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Edward Balls: At the G8 Summit in Gleneagles in 2005, the G8 and other donors agreed to provide an extra $50 billion in aid by 2010, with at least half of this going to Africa, and to cancel debt worth another $50 billion.
	Already, 20 countries are benefiting from this debt relief, using the additional savings, to meet their poverty reduction priorities. And Official Development Assistance (ODA), as measured by the OECD, reached an all time high in 2005 at $106.8 billion.
	The UK will continue to press the G8 and other donors to deliver on the aid and debt relief commitments made in 2005. At the same time, it is important also to demonstrate how these additional resources can be spent to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
	That is why the UK has committed to spend at least £8.5 billion on aid for education over the next 10 years?entering into 10-year agreements to help finance education plans developed by the poorest countries. The UK will continue to urge other donors to provide long-term predictable financing for education as part of their contribution to Gleneagles targets, including at an International Education Conference on 2 May.

Unemployment: North-East England

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on trends in unemployment in the north-east region.

John Healey: The unemployment rate in the North-East region has declined to one of the lowest rate on record of 6.5 per cent. since 1997—declining in total by 34,000.

Financial Capability: Young People

Si�n Simon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to increase levels of financial capability among young people.

Edward Balls: The Government launched their long-term approach for financial capability on 15 January. It will improve information and advice for young people, promote opportunities for children to learn about money and signpost to information and advice for parents through extended schools and Sure Start children's centres. It will also give financial education a secure place on the educational agenda and issue revised curriculum guidance, promote the Child Trust Fund as a tool for teaching financial education, and integrate financial education into basic skills learning by promoting the use of financial education as a route to literacy and numeracy skills. The Government also partner the Financial Services Authority in its national strategy for financial capability which, under its Delivering Change programme, is working with schools and helping young adults make sense of money.

Al-Qaeda: Africa

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his comments in Progress Magazine in February, what the evidential basis was for his statement that there are more al-Qaeda cells in Africa than any other part of the world.

Edward Balls: We do not provide details of sources of evidence in relation to issues of national security.

Defence Export Services Organisation: Finance

Anthony Steen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will extend the funding for the Defence Export Services Organisation through the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Stephen Timms: Decisions on the level and make up of Departmental Budgets will be published at the conclusion of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.

Departments: Vacancies

Alan Meale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many job vacancies there are for positions in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies in North Nottinghamshire and North East Derbyshire.

John Healey: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) do not currently have any job vacancies in North Nottinghamshire or North East Derbyshire to be filled by external recruitment. All recruitment opportunities are advertised on the HMRC internet site.

Home-working

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has to encourage home-working.

John Healey: As a responsible employer the Treasury provides flexible working arrangements for staff, including opportunities for home-working.

International Assistance: Disease Control

Anne Moffat: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what support his Department has provided for the international finance facility for immunisation.

Edward Balls: The International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) was launched in September 2005 with contributions from France, Italy, Spain and Sweden, as well as the UK. Norway, Brazil and South Africa have since pledged contributions.
	IFFIm has been established as a UK charity and is governed by Board of five directors. It issues bonds to convert long-term commitments from donors into up-front resources for development. These resources are then disbursed through the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI).
	The first IFFIm bonds were issued on 7 November 2006, raising $1 billion, which is currently being disbursed to purchase vaccines and deliver them to the poorest countries through the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI).

International Assistance: Primary Education

Anne Moffat: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contribution the UK is making to the goal of every child receiving a primary education.

Edward Balls: While some progress has been made globally over the past decade, universal primary education will not be achieved by 2015, unless the international community takes urgent action. Every day almost 80 million primary school aged children do not go to school.
	In April 2006, the UK announced its commitment to spend at least 8.5 billion on aid for education over the next 10 years. This aid will help to provide long-term predicable financing to help support developing countries' 10 year education plans. The UK has already announced 10 year agreements to support education sector plans in Ghana (106 million, 2006-15) and Mozambique (150 million, 2007-16).
	The UK has led the way by making a long-term commitment and is urging other donors to deliver on their promises from 2005. A high level international conference will take place on 2 May, hosted by the European Commission, and will bring together Ministers and representatives from donor and developing countries, international institutions, civil society and businesses. This conference is an opportunity for the international community to demonstrate its commitment to achieving the education Millennium Development Goals and make faster progress in this area.

Reviews: Expenditure

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much Lord Sainsbury is being paid to conduct his review of science and innovation policies;
	(2)  how much Sir James Crosby is being paid to produce his report on identity management;
	(3)  how much Kate Barker was paid to conduct the Barker review of land use planning;
	(4)  how much Andrew Gowers was paid to conduct his review of intellectual property;
	(5)  how much Sir David Cooksey was paid to conduct his review into health research funding;
	(6)  how much Sandy Leitch was paid to conduct his review of skills;
	(7)  how much Sir Rod Eddington was paid to conduct his transport study;
	(8)  how much John Baker was paid to conduct his review Realising the Economic Potential of Public Sector Research Establishments;
	(9)  how much Sir Nicholas Goddison was paid to conduct his review Securing the Best for our Museums;
	(10)  how much Richard Lambert was paid to conduct his review of business-university collaboration;
	(11)  how much the Hon. Mr. Justice Butterfield was paid to conduct his review of criminal investigations and prosecutions conducted by HM Customs and Excise;
	(12)  how much Sir Gareth Roberts was paid to conduct his review Set for Success;
	(13)  how much Derek Wanless was paid to conduct his review Securing our Future HealthTaking a Long-term View;
	(14)  how much Paul Myners was paid to conduct his review of institutional investment;
	(15)  how much Don Cruickshank was paid to conduct his review of banking services in the UK;
	(16)  how much Derek Wanless was paid to conduct his review Securing Good Health for the Whole Population;
	(17)  how much Alan Wood was paid to conduct his review of European public procurement;
	(18)  how much Lord Penrose was paid to conduct the Equitable Life inquiry;
	(19)  how much David Miles was paid to conduct his review of the UK's fixed rate mortgage market;
	(20)  how much Kate Barker was paid to conduct her review of housing supply;
	(21)  how much Christopher Allsopp was paid to conduct his review of statistical requirements for monetary and wider economic policy making;
	(22)  how much Sir Michael Lyons was paid to conduct his review of public sector relocation;
	(23)  how much Teresa Graham was paid to conduct her review of the small firms loan guarantee;
	(24)  how much Paul Myners was paid to conduct his review of the governance of life mutuals;
	(25)  how much Sir Derek Morris was paid to conduct his review of the actuarial profession;
	(26)  how much Sir John Pattison was paid to conduct his high-level review of stem cell research;
	(27)  how much Sir George Cox was paid to conduct his review of creativity in business;
	(28)  how much Professor Cave was paid to conduct his independent audit of spectrum holdings;
	(29)  how much Sir Nicholas Stern was paid to conduct his review of the economics of climate change;
	(30)  how much was paid to Lord Davidson to conduct his review of implementation of EU legislation;
	(31)  how much Phillip Hampton was paid to conduct his review of regulatory inspection and enforcement.

John Healey: The hon. Member's 31 questions cover all the reviews listed on the Treasury's public website http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_Reviews/independent_reviews_index.cfm, going back to August 1999.
	Independent reviewers are usually reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in the course of their work. Occasionally, where a reviewer is asked to undertake especially extensive work, remuneration can be provided. Since the beginning of 2005, the following have been paid fees, either by the Treasury or the Department jointly sponsoring the review:
	Andrew Cowers
	Sir Michael Lyons
	Professor Martin Cave
	Sir Derek Morris
	Sir Nicholas Stern is a paid civil servant and received no extra remuneration for conducting his review.
	Information on the fees paid, if any, for reviews completed more than two years ago could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Judiciary: Public Appointments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many of the judicial appointment commission staff are secondees from her Department.

Harriet Harman: As at 26 February 2007, there were 76 staff at the judicial appointment commission on varying lengths of secondment from the Department for Constitutional Affairs, broken down into substantive gradesthree senior civil servants, three personal secretaries, one span 9, 10 span 8's, five span 7's, one faststreamer, 13 span 6's, 18 span 4's and 22 span 3's.

British Citizens: Convictions Abroad

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what procedures  (a) are in place at the Serious Organised Crime Agency and  (b) were in place at its predecessor organisations to enter information received from Foreign Office consular staff on convictions of British citizens abroad into the Police National Computer;
	(2)  how many notifications  (a) the Serious Organised Crime Agency and  (b) its predecessor organisations received from his Department of British citizens convicted abroad in each of the last five years; and what percentage were entered on to the Police National Computer.

John Reid: The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) has housed the United Kingdom National Central Bureau (NCB) for Interpol since 1 April 2006. Previously the NCB was housed within the pre-cursor agency the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS). The process undertaken in SOCA is the same as it was in NCIS.
	While the NCB is not responsible for the collection and recording of information on UK nationals who commit crime abroad, the unit will receive such information during the course of international law enforcement co-operation, which is its remit. The sources of information will vary, but may include information from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. An initial assessment of the quality of the information is made. If there is insufficient identification material, more details are requested. Research is carried out against available databases in order to identify if the individual is already known or of interest to UK law enforcement. Where sufficient details of identity and offence are received, the case officer will forward this to the National Identification Service. Any existing record will be updated, or a new criminal record will be created.
	Since many notifications will be contained within investigative casework, neither SOCA, nor NCIS before it, have statistics which would accurately reflect the number of conviction notifications received, or what percentage of these have been added to the Police National Computer.

Burglary

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the proportion of distraction burglaries that are reported to the police; and what proportion of reported distraction burglaries resulted in a conviction in the last period for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: Figures are not available on the proportion of distraction burglaries reported to the police. However, research suggests that distraction burglaries are under reported for many reasons including embarrassment and fear, and police and partners are engaged in a range of initiatives to encourage greater reporting.
	11,552 distraction burglaries were recorded by the police in England and Wales in 2005-06. The subset of domestic burglary convictions that were a result of distraction burglary is not available centrally.

Community Policing: Liverpool

Jane Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crime wardens are working with Merseyside police within the boundary of Liverpool city council who are funded by  (a) Home Office resources,  (b) neighbourhood renewal fund resources,  (c) new deal for communities resources and  (d) local authority resources.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 28 February 2007
	I have been asked to reply.
	The street crime warden service is operated by Liverpool city council's city watch. 43 street crime warden posts are currently funded through the Neighbourhood renewal fund by CLG. An expansion of the service, from April 2007, will see an additional 38 posts created to be funded through the safer and stronger communities block of the local area agreement by CLG and HO. No street crime warden posts are directly funded by the Home Office or from new deal for communities or local authority resources.

Crime: Victims

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to ensure that funding from the Victims' Fund is made available to develop restorative justice services for those victims who want to meet the offender.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The intention of the Victims Fund grant scheme is to fund voluntary organisations that provide direct specialist support services to victims of particular crime types. It is open for these organisations to include restorative justice initiatives within their application for funding.

Departments: Furniture

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many items of furniture were  (a) lost and  (b) stolen from his Department in each year since 1997; and what the value was of those items in each year.

Liam Byrne: This information is not held centrally and could be collated, only at disproportionate cost.

Deportation: Administrative Delays

Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the  (a) target and  (b) average time taken was in the past 12 months for consideration of an application for revocation of a Deportation Order under Immigration and Nationality Department Rule 390.

Liam Byrne: There have not been any specific targets set for dealing with the relatively small number of considerations for revocations of deportation orders actioned by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND). Revocation of an order does not mean the subject may re-enter the UK. It only makes them eligible to apply for entry under the Immigration Rules. Consideration of these applications is not measured using average times but rather is included in the total for all non-asylum, non-charged postal applications. These are measured against the published service standards set for IND' Managed Migration which are that 25 per cent. of all applications should be completed within 20 working days, and 30 per cent. completed within 70 working days. As of 31 January 2007, 43 per cent. of these applications are completed within 20 working days and 87 per cent. are completed within 70 working days. The above data is not provided under the National Statistics protocols. It has been derived from local management information and is therefore provisional and subject to change.

Deportation: Democratic Republic of Congo

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the evidential basis is for the assessment of the Immigration Service that asylum seekers returned to Kinshasa will not be at risk of mistreatment; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 26 February 2007
	Each asylum and human rights claim is considered on its individual merits in accordance with our international obligations and taking full account of conditions in the country concerned as they impact on the individual. Information obtained from a wide range of governmental and non-governmental and human rights organisation sources, is provided to asylum claim decision makers in country information reports which are published on a regular basis. The most recent Home Office country information report on DRC was published on 14 February 2007, and can be accessed on the Home Office website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/country_reports.html.

Domestic Violence

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of incidents of domestic violence reported to the police involved  (a) male,  (b) female and  (c) child victims in the last year for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Home Office does not routinely collect this information, although a gender breakdown of victims of domestic violence incidents reported to the police would be available at police force area level. Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) guidance states that officers should identify and record whether a child was present when the incident occurred, or if children are resident at the house in question.
	National prevalence data on domestic violence by gender is collected through the British Crime Survey's Inter-Personal Violence (IPV) module. The 2004-05 IPV suggests that about one in four women and one in six men had been a victim of domestic violence (current/ex-partner) since the age of 16, and about6percent of women and 4 per cent. of men had experienced domestic violence (current/ex-partner) in the last year (although women were more likely than men to suffer greater injury and be classed as chronic victims).

Domestic Violence

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many domestic violence co-ordinators there were in each  (a) local authority area and  (b) police authority area in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 21 February 2007
	In response to your request for the number of domestic violence co-ordinators there were in each local authority area in each of the last five years, the Home Office has provided the number of local authority areas that currently employ domestic violence co-ordinators in response to the hon. Member's previous question (112100). The Home Department does not have access to this information over the preceding years.
	In relation to your latter question concerning the number of domestic violence co-ordinators in each police authority area, we can confirm that every police force in England and Wales has a domestic violence champion.

Entry Clearances

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals who had their initial application for asylum refused were subsequently granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 27 February 2007
	The requested information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
	Information on asylum is published in quarterly web pages and in the annual statistical bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom. Copies of these publications and others relating to general immigration to the UK are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Immigration Controls: Biometrics

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost of registering foreign nationals already resident in the UK for a biometric immigration document.

John Reid: In line with my commitment to Parliament we have undertaken to give the estimated costs and cost-benefit analysis in our next six monthly ID card cost report.

Immigration: Death

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people subject to immigration control died in custody in each of the last 10 years.

John Reid: The available information, detailed in the following table, is in respect of immigration detainees in Immigration Removal Centres.
	
		
			  Deaths (including apparently self-inflicted deaths) in Immigration Removal Centres 
			 1997 0 
			 1998 0 
			 1999 0 
			 2000 1 
			 2001 0 
			 2002 0 
			 2003 2 
			 2004 4 
			 2005 2 
			 2006 1

National Offender Management Trusts

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the proposed division of assets in respect of the national offender management trusts will be; and whether the proposed trusts will be empowered to hold reserves.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Schedule 2 of the Offender Management Bill provides for the Secretary of State to make a scheme for the transfer of property in the transition from probation boards to trusts. Probation boards' assets comprise mainly office machinery, IT equipment and vehicles. The probation estate is, and will remain, the property of the Crown.
	In general, it is envisaged that, where services currently run by a board transfer to a trust, the corresponding assets will transfer with it.
	Schedule 1 of the Bill provides that a probation trust may not invest sums not immediately required for achieving its purposes without the approval of the Secretary of State.

National Offender Management Trusts

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library summaries of the principal responses to his Department's consultation on the creation of national offender management trusts.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In October 2005, the Government published a consultation paper, Restructuring Probation to Reduce Reoffending. 748 written submissions were received. In March 2006, the Government published a list of the respondents and a summary of their responses in Working with probation to protect the public and reduce reoffending. I am happy to make any available on request copies of specific responses.

North Sea Camp Prison

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what capital expenditure there was on North Sea Camp Prison, Lincolnshire in each of the last 10 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In the last 10 years, there has been 2.323 million of capital expenditure on North Sea Camp prison as set out in the following table.
	
		
			  North Sea Camp, capital investment 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  Total 
			 Roofing 124  124 
			 Sea defences 240 21 5266 
			 Fire alarms  197 28 6   231 
			 Lightning protection 79  79 
			 Modular temporary unit  1,177 39 48   1,264 
			 Ancillaries  191 27 7   225 
			 Modular library   103 24 7  134 
			 Total 364 218 33 6 79 1,368 169 79 7 0 2,323

Offenders: Republic of Ireland

Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Irish nationals have  (a) applied for and  (b) been granted revocation of a Deportation Order under Immigration and Nationality Department Rule 390 in each of the last five years; and how many (i) applications and (ii) revocations were made in total under this order in each year.

Liam Byrne: Revocation of deportation orders are considered by Managed Migration's General Group in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. Records do not show any revocation applications made by Irish nationals during the last five years. Revocation of an order does not mean the subject may re-enter the UK. It only makes them eligible to apply for entry under the Immigration Rules. A table of the number of applications and revocations from all nationalities made to General Group in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			   Application for revocation of deportation order( 1)  Revocation of deportation order( 1) 
			 2002 10 10 
			 2003 50 20 
			 2004 40 20 
			 2005 40 30 
			 2006 50 30 
			 Total 190 110 
			 (1) Figures rounded to the nearest 10.  Note: The above data is not provided under the National Statistics protocols. It has been derived from local management information and is therefore provisional and subject to change.

Passports

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which organisations are  (a) accredited to use the Passport Validation Service and  (b) in the process of becoming accredited.

John Reid: At the end of January 2007, there were 18 organisations using the Passport Validation Service (PVS) and there are a number of interested potential users in discussions with the Identity and Passport Service at present.
	PVS is used by private sector organisations regulated by the Financial Services Authority that have to comply with the 'Know Your Customer' statement of good practice requirements. Customers include a number of high street banks and mortgage providers who have gone through a thorough accreditation process and have entered into contractual agreements with the Identity and Passport Service.
	Other Government Departments also use PVS as part of their identity management processes and are listed on the IPS website at www.ips.gov.uk.

Passports: Personal Records

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information can be accessed by an employee of the Identity and Passport Service in the course of conducting a Passport Validation Service check; what training they receive; and what penalties are in place for misuse of the information.

John Reid: Employees of the Identity and Passport Service conducting a Passport Validation Service check have access to a limited amount of passport records which are necessary to conduct the check effectively. These are largely the same as the information on the face of the passport:
	Surname
	Forename(s)
	Nationality
	Date of Birth
	Gender
	Place of Birth
	Date of Issue
	Place of Issue
	Date of Expiry
	Photograph image and signature (in the case of digital passports)
	Additionally, any markers on the passport record can be seen (e.g. to indicate a lost or stolen passport).
	The training received by call centre operators that relates specifically to carrying out a PVS check includes (a) an introduction to PVS and PVS processes, (b) telephone techniques and customer care, (c) an introduction to PVS policy, procedures and legal obligations and (d) specific training on PVS IT systems.
	All staff are subject to the Civil Service Code and IPS's Code of Conduct which state all staff must:
	sign and comply with the terms of the Official Secrets Act;
	not disclose official information to unauthorised parties;
	comply with the terms of the Data Protection Act 1999 in dealing with personal information;
	have no unauthorised contact with the media (all approaches by the media must be referred to the Communications Section); and
	not seek or accept any personal gain or advancement by improper use of official information or influence.
	Any staff in breach of this would be subject to IPS's disciplinary procedure which could result in their dismissal and possible criminal proceedings.

Passports: Personal Records

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what databases are accessed in the process of a personal identity project biographical footprint search.

John Reid: Strengthening identity authentication is a stated business objective for IPS in its corporate and business plans. The main IPS objectives of the Personal Identity Process (PIP) are:
	To strengthen the process of authenticating the identity of passport applicants through independent checks;
	To deter and help detect fraudulent applications.
	The-most difficult thing for an identity fraudster to do is to create a history for a false identity. Therefore, the concept of PIP is to check information supplied by passport applicants against information held on private and public sector databases in order to help confirm that the identity claimed is a real person who is alive and, importantly, who has been active in society at the address given. This is known as a social or biographical 'footprint'.
	To automate the PIP checks, IPS has a contract with a credit reference agency, Equifax, which currently hosts the PIP decision engine. None of the applicant's financial detail is included within the PIP checks. The checks establish only that the applicant's details are present on the databases..
	Currently, PIP checks are made against the following commercially available databases:
	Electoral roll
	BT records
	Credit records
	County court judgments (1999)
	HALO deathsa database compiled from Governmental and funeral directors' records
	ONS deaths (England and Wales 1983-2003)

Passports: Personal Records

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Personal Identity Process (PIP) biographic footprint checks are carried out by all passport application offices; and when the PIP was first used at each office.

John Reid: PIP checks are carried out in all IPS regional offices on all first time adult (16 years and older) applications.
	PIP was introduced into the IPS regional offices as follows:
	Glasgow: 10 March 2006
	Liverpool: 17 March 2006
	London: 2 May 2006
	Belfast: 12 May 2006
	Peterborough: 19 May 2006
	Newport: 9 June 2006
	Durham: 7 July 2006

Prison Service: Absenteeism

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what policy guidelines have been issued by his Department to the Prison Service on sickness and absence; and what the average number of days lost per Prison Service employee through sickness and absence was in the last year for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Home Office and HM Prison Service are working together, to share best practice in reducing sickness absence.
	The average number of working days lost per person in the public sector Prison Service in 2006 was 11.6 days (provisional out-turn) compared to 14.72 days in 2002-03. Sickness absence has fallen by 21.2 per cent. in the public sector Prison Service since 2002-03.

Prison Service: Corruption

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who is responsible within HM Prison Service for anti-corruption policy development and practice; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Professional Standards Unit is responsible for anti-corruption policy and governors and area managers, via their area and local professional standards managers, are responsible for its application.

Prison Service: Corruption

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what anti-corruption training is provided to employees of HM Prison Service; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: A training package focusing on the use of intelligence gathering techniques is offered to all area professional standards managers, local professional standards managers and their deputies.

Prison Service: Manpower

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met the Director General of the Prison Service to discuss the staffing of the Prison Service.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Home Secretary has met the director-general on a number of occasions, none of which were specifically or solely to discuss the staffing of the Prison Service.

Prison Service: Standards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are appointed within HM Prison Service with dedicated responsibility for professional standards issues; what training and resources were made available to those in this post for 2005-06; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Each prison and area office is required to have a local professional standards manager. In addition, the central Professional Standards Unit has 12 staff.
	A training package focusing on the legal use of intelligence gathering techniques has been developed by Professional Standards Unit. This training is offered to all area professional standards manager, local professional standards managers and their deputies.

Prisoners: Foreigners

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals prisoners in prisons were  (a) aged over 65 and  (b) classified as mentally disordered as at 1 December 2006.

John Reid: holding answer 6 February 2007
	In response to  (a), on 30 November 2006 there were 74 foreign national prisoners held in prison establishments in England and Wales aged 65 and over. In response to  (b) information on the numbers of prisoners with mental illness is not centrally collected.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual the figures may not be accurate to that level.

Prisons: Lancashire

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners there are in each prison in Lancashire; and what the operational capacity of each prison is.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 22 February 2007
	Information on the number of prisoners and the operational capacity of each prison in Lancashire can be found in the table.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual, the figures may not be accurate to that level.
	
		
			  Prison numbers and operational capacity in Lancashire prisons, January 2007 
			   Operational capacity  Population 
			 Buckley Hall 385 381 
			 Garth 619 611 
			 Hindley 431 390 
			 Kirkham 590 516 
			 Lancaster 243 195 
			 Lancaster Farms 527 534 
			  Note: Lancaster Farms' population figure includes authorised absences.  Source: http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/assets/documents/100026F9pop_bull_jan_07.doc

Prisons: Private Sector

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  which  (a) prisons,  (b) young offenders' institutions and  (c) other custodial units in the UK are run by private companies; how much was paid from public funds to each such company in each year since they took on the management of these institutions; what the staff turnover rate was in each such institution in each of the last five years; and what proportion of staff in such institutions had more than five years continuous service at the same facility as of 1 January 2007;
	(2)  how many assaults there were against  (a) staff and  (b) other inmates by prisoners in each privately-run custodial institution;
	(3)  what proportion of staff in privately-run custodial institutions are from ethnic minority backgrounds, broken down by grade.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is provided in the tables.
	
		
			  Staff turnover expressed as a percentage of the total staff for each year since 2002 
			   2006  2005  2004  2003  2002 
			 Altcourse 5 11 9 10 (1) 
			 Ashfield 19.51 29.41 (1) 34.60 (1) 
			 Bronzefield 17.17 30.55 27.25 (2) (2) 
			 Doncaster 14.63 17.97 19.76 9.07 (1) 
			 Dovegate 21.69 22.35 41.50 43.90 (1) 
			 Forest Bank 19.79 25.50 25.52 25.30 22.74 
			 Lowdham Grange 30.19 24.70 29.08 30.94 (1) 
			 Parc 12.94 19.47 16.17 27.12 23.14 
			 Peterborough 29.16 18.81 (3) (3) (3) 
			 Rye Hill 15 39 27 36 (1) 
			 Wolds 10 11 11 8 (1) 
			 (1) Unavailable (2) Opened June 2004 (3) Opened March 2005 
		
	
	These figures show the total amount of public funds paid to each company who run contracted prisons and young offender's institutions. These figures were previously published in the annual Office for Contracted Prisons statement of performance for 2004-05 and 2005-06.
	The figures provided for 2006-07 are a predicted forecast of the amount to be paid from public funds to each company.
	Figures for previous years of the management contract are unavailable as these were previously managed by HMPS.
	
		
			   2006-07 forecast  2005-06  2004-05 
			 GSL 55,163,032 53,366,516 52,422,722 
			 G4S 36,247,142 33,539,477 32,365,812 
			 SERCO 82,479,719 76,504,512 71,938,776 
			 KALYX (formally UKDS) 70,727,622 (1)42,801,211 (2)21,877,576 
			 (1) Peterborough opened during 2005-06 so part figures have been excluded. (2) Bronzefield and Peterborough opened during 2004-05 so part figures have been excluded. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of staff employed in each prison with over five year's service at one site as at 1 January 2007 
			   Five+ years service  Percentage( 1) 
			 Altcourse (GSL) 300 59 
			 Ashfield (SERCO) 81 17.96 
			 Doncaster (SERCO) 360 58.35 
			 Dovegate (SERCO) 117 26.96 
			 Forest Bank (KALYX) 146 35.50 
			 Lowdham Grange (SERCO) 108 36 
			 Parc (G4S) (2) 45.86 
			 Rye Hill (GSL) 58 21 
			 Wolds (GSL) 129 60 
			 (1) The number of staff with over five year's service expressed as a percentage of the total staff. (2) Not provided.  Note: HMP Bronzefield and Peterborough have been excluded from this table as neither have been open long enough for staff to accrue five or more years service.

Probation

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Probation Risk Screening Tool utilised by the Probation Service in the courts will be available to assist with the preparation of Fast Delivery Reports.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The risk of serious harm screening tool is already used in courts across England and Wales to inform the preparation of fast delivery reports.

Work Permits

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits were issued for citizens of  (a) Africa,  (b) Latin America,  (c) South Asia and  (d) East Asia in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: Table 1 shows the number of work permit applications which were approved for overseas nationals, in the period 1997 to 2006, from  (a) Africa,  (b) Latin America,  (c) South Asia and  (d) South East Asia (not East Asia).
	The listing shows which countries have been included under each region of the world.
	
		
			  Table 1: number of work permit approvals per year 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  Total 
			 Africa 5,271 7,423 9,828 13,432 22,374 27,778 25,536 24,919 20,908 18,284 175,753 
			 Latin America 1,228 1,436 1,553 2,173 2,512 3,064 3,275 3,775 4,014 4,915 27,945 
			 South Asia 9,011 12,395 13,289 23,400 35,099 42,635 51,126 69,040 61,235 69,184 386,414 
			 South East Asia 1,401 2,096 2,298 2,735 4,582 5,788 6,123 6,587 5,486 6,018 43,114 
			  Note: The figures include all individuals who were approved as part of a group application. The figures provided are not national statistics but are based on provisional management information and may be subject to change. 
		
	
	 Definitions of regions for this PQ answer
	 South East Asia:
	Brunei
	Cambodia
	Christmas Island
	Hong Kong
	Indonesia
	Laos
	Malaysia
	Myanmar
	Singapore
	Thailand
	Vietnam
	 South Asia:
	Bangladesh
	Bhutan
	China
	India
	Maldives
	Nepal
	Pakistan
	Sri Lanka
	 Latin America:
	Argentina
	Belize
	Bolivia
	Brazil
	Chile
	Colombia
	Cuba
	Ecuador
	El Salvador
	Guatemala
	Honduras
	Mexico
	Nicaragua
	Panama
	Paraguay
	Peru
	Surinam
	Uruguay
	 Africa:
	Algeria
	Angola
	Benin
	Botswana
	Burkina Faso
	Burundi
	Cameroon
	Cape Verde
	Central African
	Chad
	Comoros
	Congo
	Djibouti
	Egypt
	Eritrea
	Ethiopia
	Gabon
	Gambia
	Ghana
	Guinea
	Guinea-Bissau
	Ivory Coast
	Kenya
	Lesotho
	Liberia
	Libya
	Madagascar
	Malawi
	Mali
	Mauritania
	Mauritius
	Morocco
	Mozambique
	Namibia
	Niger
	Nigeria
	Rwanda
	Senegal
	Seychelles
	Sierra Leone
	Somalia
	South Africa
	Sudan
	Swaziland
	Tanzania
	Togo
	Tunisia
	Uganda
	Zaire
	Zambia
	Zimbabwe

Work Permits: Doctors

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of non-EEA foreign nationals that will be granted a work permit  (a) to work as a doctor in the NHS and  (b) to complete their training in each of the next five years.

John Reid: The work permit arrangements are demand-led and numbers are not determined by the Home Office. It is for NHS trusts to decide how many work permit applications for qualified or trainee doctors they wish to submit in future. All applications received by Work Permits (UK) will be fully assessed against the work permit criteria.

Young Offenders: Foreigners

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners aged under 18 were in prisons in England and Wales on 1 December 2006.

John Reid: holding answer 6 February 2007
	On 30 November 2006, there were 188 foreign national prisoners aged under 18 held in all prison establishments including young offender institutions and juvenile units in England and Wales.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual the figures may not be accurate to that level.

Departmental Coordination: EC Action

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many staff are employed in her European Secretariat; and what mechanisms are in place for liaison between the secretariat and officials responsible to the Minister for Europe.

Hilary Armstrong: The European Secretariat, which is part of the Cabinet Office, employs 28 people. The Secretariat coordinates European policy across Government. There is daily contact at all levels between the Secretariat and FCO officials dealing with EU business and the FCO attend European Secretariat coordination meetings.

Departments: Accountancy

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what items were covered by the 18(b) Intra-Government Balances as referred to on page 54 of the Cabinet Office's Resource Accounts 2005-06.

Hilary Armstrong: Note 18b covers amounts outstanding to the Cabinet Office for the following items under each of the headings.
	 Balances with other central government bodies
	The National School for Government's business trading transactions with other parts of
	Government, providing training, development and consultancy services.
	Services provided by the Parliamentary Counsel Office.
	Cost share arrangements with other Government Departments to deliver and operate DirectGov, the Government's primary digital service for citizens, and other common infrastructure.
	Services in support of the Cabinet Office's objectives to achieve co-ordination of policy and operations across Government and to improve delivery by building capacity in Departments.
	Permitted VAT recovery from HM Revenue and Customs.
	The transfer of functions to other departments as part of machinery of government changes.
	 Balances with local authorities
	Trading transactions with the National School of Government and the Emergency Planning College.
	Reimbursement of costs connected with staff transferring between local authorities and the Cabinet Office.
	Prepayment of civil defence grants.
	Contributions to common IT infrastructure.
	 Balances with NHS trusts
	Trading transactions with the National School of Government and the Emergency Planning College.
	Reimbursement of costs connected with staff transferring between NHS trusts and the Cabinet Office.
	 Balances with public corporations and trading funds
	Trading transactions with the National School of Government.
	Services in support of the Cabinet Office's objectives to achieve co-ordination of policy and operations across Government and to improve delivery by building capacity in Departments
	Reimbursement of costs connected with staff transferring between NHS trusts and the Cabinet Office.
	 Balances with bodies external to government
	Trading transactions with the National School of Government and the Emergency Planning College.
	Advances to members of staff, primarily for season ticket loans.
	Reimbursement of costs connected with collaboration with external bodies and with staff transferring between external bodies and the Cabinet Office.
	Prepaid expenditure for training, maintenance, telecommunications and grants to civil service organisations.

Exchange Rate Mechanism

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what public expenditure was on the Exchange Rate Mechanism project in 2005-06, broken down by main budget heading.

Hilary Armstrong: I understand that the question is intended to refer to the Cabinet Office's Electronic Records Management Project.
	
		
			  Annual expenditure for 2005-06 
			
			 Applications (software etc.) 608,482.00 
			 Business change 29,525.00 
			 Infrastructure (hardware etc.) 87,443.00 
			 Project costs 354,443.00 
			 Total 1,079,893.00

Army: Vetting

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what police checks are carried out on army recruits from Commonwealth countries;
	(2)  if he will establish background police checks on army recruits from the Commonwealth.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 23 February 2007
	As part of the Army recruitment process, Commonwealth citizens who apply while outside the UK, are required to provide a certificate from their home nation police force which confirms that a check has been carried out on the individual within the threefour months preceding their application. In addition, all recruits, regardless of nationality and place of application, are required to declare whether or not they have any unspent convictions. Security Vetting is carried out by the Defence Vetting Agency for all recruits entering vetted trades such as the Royal Signals, and Criminal Records Bureau checks are made on all Medical Services recruits. There are no plans at present however to establish further background police checks for Commonwealth recruits.

Military Bases: Stafford

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what progress he has made towards ceasing the storage and distribution operations at the military base in Stafford; and what alternative uses he proposes for the storage and distribution facilities there;
	(2)  what plans he has for locating additional military units at the military base in Stafford;
	(3)  what progress he has made in establishing a new Signals Regiment at the military base in Stafford.

Adam Ingram: 42 per cent. of the stocks from the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency facility at Stafford have been transferred to other Defence Storage and Distribution Agency sites. The remainder of the transfer is on target and programmed to complete by the end of September 2007.
	In terms of alternative uses for the storage and distribution facilities at Stafford and plans to locate additional military units at the military base, a study team is currently assessing a number of site options, including the defence site at Stafford, as potential bases for certain units who may return from Germany to the UK. Decisions are not expected before summer 2007. There is an additional aspiration to create, in the longer term, a West Midlands Super Garrison, of which Stafford may be a part. Work is ongoing to develop the Super Garrison plan.
	The new Signals Regiment (22 Signal Regiment) is now 80 per cent. in situ in Stafford. The final aspects of establishing the regiment are progressing on time with Full Operating Capability expected in December 2007.

Dental Services: Hemel Hempstead

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS  (a) dentists and  (b) patients were registered in Hemel Hempstead constituency in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Table one shows data on national health service dentists and patients registered as at year ending March 1997 to 2006 as requested, under the old contract.
	Under the new dental contract, as from April 2006 registration data is no longer collected centrally, instead there is a new measure on patients seen within the last 24 months. The latest data for NHS dentists and patients seen (table two and three) is only available at primary care trust (PCT) area level. The data requested are not available for Hemel Hempstead constituency. Dacorum PCT covers South West Hertfordshire constituency as well as Hemel Hempstead constituency.
	
		
			  Table 1: general dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS): total NHS dentists and patient registrations by parliamentary constituency, as at 31 March 1997 to 2006 
			   Dentists  Registrations 
			  Hemel Hempstead   
			 1997 40 49,669 
			 1998 35 46,687 
			 1999 38 42,731 
			 2000 40 42,223 
			 2001 42 42,093 
			 2002 43 43,455 
			 2003 47 42,847 
			 2004 46 43,558 
			 2005 44 43,422 
			 2006 50 45,169 
			  Notes: 1. The postcode of the dental practice was used to allocate dentists to specific geographic areas. Constituency areas have been defined using the Office for National Statistics all fields postcode directory. 2. Dentists consist of principals, assistant and trainees. Information on NHS dentistry in the community dental service, in hospitals and in prisons are excluded. 3. The data in this report are based on NHS dentists on PCT lists. These details were passed on to the BSA who paid dentists based on activity undertaken. A dentist can provide as little or as much NHS treatment as he or she chooses or has agreed with the PCT. In some cases an NHS dentist may appear on a PCT list but not perform any NHS work in that period. Most NHS dentists do some private work. The data does not take into account the proportion of NHS work undertaken by dentists. 4. The boundaries used are as at 31 March 2006.  Sources: The Information Centre for health arid social care NHS Business Services Authority (BSA) Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Total number of dentists on open NHS contracts at PCT level as at 30 June 2006 and as at 30 September 2006 (including orthodontic workforce) 
			   June  September 
			 Dacorum PCT 90 88 
			  Notes: 1. A performer is defined as a dentist who has been set up on the DPD payments online (POL)system by the PCT to work under an open contract during the relevant time period. 2. Data provided are a count of the individuals listed as performers on open contracts within a PCT, including orthodontists. 3. Data consist of performers in general dental services (GDS), personal dental services (PDS), and trust-led dental services.  Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care NHS Business Services Authority (BSA) Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Total number of patients seen in the two years ending 30 June 2006 and 30 September 2006 (including orthodontic activity) 
			   June  September 
			 Dacorum PCT 82,985 83,548 
			  Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care NHS Business Services Authority (BSA) Office for National Statistics

Dental Services: Kent

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists there are in  (a) Sittingbourne and  (b) Sheppey.

Rosie Winterton: Numbers of dentists under the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, are not available at this level of area. Sittingbourne and Sheppey parliamentary constituency is covered by Swale primary care trust (PCT), which also covers Faversham and Mid-Kent constituency. The latest numbers for the PCT are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Dentists on open national health service contracts within Swale primary care trust as at 30 September 2006 
			   Number 
			 Swale PCT 41 
			  Note: A dentist can provide as little or as much NHS treatment as he or she chooses or has agreed within their contract. In some cases an NHS dentist may be listed to carry out NHS work but may not do so for a given period.  Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care NHS Business Services Authority (BSA)

Diabetes: Testing

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of people with diabetes have  (a) been offered and  (b) received retinopathy screening; what targets her Department has for diabetic retinopathy screening; and whether these targets have been met.

Rosie Winterton: Improvement, expansion and reform: the next three years, the priorities and planning framework for 2003-06, includes targets that: by 2006, a minimum of 80 per cent. of people with diabetes to be offered screening for the early detection (and treatment if needed): of diabetic retinopathy as part of a systematic programme that meets national standards, rising to 100 per cent., of those at risk of retinopathy by end 2007. Data shows that, in March 2006, 78.4 per cent. of people with diabetes had been offered screening and 65.4 per cent. had received screening for diabetic retinopathy in the previous year. Latest data for December 2006 shows that 81.1 per cent. of people with diabetes had been offered screening and 65.5 per cent. had received screening for diabetic retinopathy in the previous year.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in England and Wales were in treatment in  (a) 2003,  (b) 2004,  (c) 2005 and  (d) 2006 under pooled treatment budget allocations for drug treatment funding; and how many of those people were treated in drug assistance rehabilitation beds.

Caroline Flint: The table shows the number of clients presented to treatment in England from 2003 to 2006, and how many people were in residential rehabilitation using data collected by the national drug treatment monitoring system (NDTMS).
	The NDTMS collects data for England only; Welsh data is collected separately through the National Assembly for Wales. Placements within treatment services will be funded by local mainstream budgets and community care budgets, as well as using pooled drug treatment budget allocations. The data requested is available only for financial years 2003-04 to 2005-06.
	
		
			   Number in treatment  Number in residential rehab 
			 2003-04 125,545 n/a 
			 2004-05 160,450 4,400 
			 2005-06 181,390 4,575 
			  Note: The figures for numbers in residential rehabilitation are likely to be under-represented, as in previous years many residential rehabilitation agencies have not completed NDTMS returns Data was not collected from residential rehabilitation services prior to 2003-04.

Junior Doctors: Career Structure

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has consulted  (a) the British Medical Association and  (b) its junior doctor representatives on the service implications of moving to a uniform August start date for Modernising Medical Careers.

Rosie Winterton: The British Medical Association (BMA) along with other important stakeholders has been consulted at every stage of the development of Modernising Medical Careers.
	Historically, medical graduates have always begun their new jobs in the national health service in August while at the same time senior house officers begin new six-month contracts. In England, this could mean up to 20,000 doctors in training, including over 4,300 new graduates, taking up jobs in August.
	Under modernising medical careers, doctors in training will not be required to look for new jobs every six months. Instead, they will train in managed programmes lasting a number of years according to specialty.
	Modernising medical careers will, therefore, help to ease rather than increase the pressure created by the August start date. We are aware, however, that there will still be a higher level of recruitment in August than in any other month. We have asked the Modernising Medical Careers United Kingdom Strategy Group to consider whether other arrangements might be more appropriate. The BMA and indeed NHS employers will be consulted as part of that study.

NHS: Logos

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much  (a) her Department and  (b) NHS Identity has spent on licensing fonts since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: The Department has spent 9,976 on font licences since 1997, of which 3,529 was spent on font licenses for use with the national health service corporate identity.

Tuberculosis

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of tuberculosis were reported  (a) in England,  (b) the area covered by the East Kent Hospitals Trust and  (c) at the Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother Hospital, Margate in each of the last 10 years.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 28 February 2007
	Reports of tuberculosis in England 1995-2005 are shown in the table.
	Data for tuberculosis rates for individual hospitals are not collected centrally.
	
		
			   Number of case reports 
			 2005 7,846 
			 2004 7,049 
			 2003 6,741 
			 2002 6,638 
			 2001 6,414 
			 2000 6,091 
			 1999 5,539 
			 1998 5,495 
			  Source: Health Protection Agency enhanced tuberculosis surveillance (ETS) system, piloted in 1998 and introduced in 1999. 
		
	
	
		
			   Number of notifications 
			 1997 5,664 
			 1996 5,493 
			 1995 5,428 
			  Note: Data as at 23 February 2007. Data for 2006 are not yet available.  Source: Health Protection Agency statutory notifications of infectious diseases (NOIDS) NOIDS data are less precise than those collected through ETS.